"Very well, I’ll approve of that... But only on the condition that you defeat me in battle."

Selena swallowed hard at Eric’s words, a stiff smile forming across her face. "Sir Eric, I don’t think pairing up a newbie with you is the best idea..."

Eric was a C-rank hero, but being a hero was more than just about rank. It was about experience. Of all the heroes in the association, Eric was perhaps one of the oldest!

Heck, his rank was only still C because he was promoted to manager, as he knew much more than most about the workings of the association.

Pairing Bolt up with Nick was good at the time because she was confident Bolt wouldn’t go too far. She couldn’t say the same for Eric, not because he lacked control, but because his abilities weren’t the type that could be controlled with ease.

A small mistake would lead to an abrupt death!

"Please reconsider, we could get someone el—"

"Alright, we can fight," Nicholas said calmly. Selena almost coughed up blood hearing the reply from behind her. She turned around, lost for words.

"See, Supervisor Selena, there’s nothing to worry about! The young man is confident, I like that," Eric said with a gleeful smile. He calmly walked over to Nicholas, throwing a hand over his shoulder.

"Well, let’s get straight into it," Eric said as he led Nicholas with him to another room.

Selena stood behind as the two walked past her, and after a short moment, she facepalmed. ’I wish Eric kills that brat by mistake.’ She lit her cigarette furiously as she followed behind the two. ’Let’s be done with this registration so I can get back home. Today can’t get any worse.’

---

Nicholas stood in a similar room as the last; however, this one looked slightly different as it had a large red circle drawn around them. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Eric stood ahead of him, his hulking frame and intimidating body standing in contrast to the large smile on his face.

"I don’t want to make this too long or complicated. Whoever leaves the red circle first loses," Eric explained as he pointed at the red circle surrounding them.

"Understood," Nicholas replied casually.

"Are you ready?" Eric asked calmly as his smile grew wide, his frame suddenly becoming larger, ripping straight through his suit. His muscles tightened, becoming more defined.

The transformation wasn’t too much, but the change was very much noticeable.

Selena stood in the watch room, staring down at the scene with a grim expression. ’It’s been a long time since I saw Sir Eric fight. Let’s see how strong he actually is.’

Nicholas stood calmly even after the transformation. He let out a calm breath, flexing his hands in a boxing motion while hopping slightly with his feet.

Eric’s gaze shifted. "Nice stance. Then I believe you must be quite skilled. I’ll advise that fighting me head-on without your abilities will be quite dangerous. If you can use your abilities now, I believe you should."

"I’m fine, come at me," Nicholas replied back casually. ’I’ll use this to check if the charm points actually have an effect on me.’

"Very well." Eric grinned as he pushed one foot backward before shooting forward with a powerful momentum.

BOOM!

Nicholas’ eyes sharpened almost immediately. The speed, although not on par with Bolt’s, was nothing short of superhuman.

He could only rely on his instincts to counter as he felt all the hairs on his body stand. Eric’s form resurfaced, towering over him like a massive behemoth. His arm cocked back—and fired forward like an arrow shot from a bow.

Nicholas quickly raised his arms in deflection while shifting his stance. He used his hands to deflect the angle of the punch, redirecting a portion of it, but he wasn’t completely saved. He could feel the remnant force rupturing through his arm.

Nicholas took a leap backward, his eyes locked on Eric. The first exchange was nothing short of frightening.

’That remnant energy was enough to shatter my bones... That punch was too powerful,’ Nicholas thought, glancing down at his hands. He could tell that if it was him some moments ago, without the additional charm points that he’d added to his strength, the fight would end even before it started.

Eric grinned as excitement filled his body. He didn’t expect Nicholas to be so skilled. ’He managed to take a punch. Sadly, skills can only bring him this far. If he doesn’t use his abilities... he’ll lose now.’He controlled his ability and reduced the output of his energy to be just enough to deal with Nicholas, but it seemed that wouldn’t be enough.

Nicholas could also see the subtle flash in Eric’s gaze as he blurred into motion. That was enough to tell him that he was going to lose if he didn’t do something... He only had an idea of how strong these superhumans were, but experiencing it, was nothing short of frightening.

They were no pushovers.

’I’ll use the ability now,’ Nicholas thought, but that fraction of time he took in thought was more than enough, as Eric’s gigantic fist was upon him once again.

{Ding!}

{Skill, Void Activated}

The fist came crashing down like a boulder, fired straight at his gut! Selena’s eyes widened. "Use your abilities!"

The punch connected.

The room went silent for a brief moment as the two stood perfectly still, as though time itself paused for a brief second.

"That punch carried just enough force to tear through him... Did Eric pause at the last moment?" Selena pondered out loud, letting out a sigh of relief. However, in contrast to what she thought, Eric felt a sudden feeling wash over him.

The punch was just enough to throw him right outside the ring.

But it failed, and not just that, but Nicholas had seemingly caught the fist with ease. A fist that he could barely deflect before!

But it wasn’t just that. There was something terrifyingly odd. ’My abilities... I can’t use them anymore....’

He felt the supernatural energy that was fueling his body slowly fade and his form slowly shrink back to its normal state.

Eric raised his gaze to meet Nicholas’ gaze. "You wanted to know my ability, there you go.... And now that we don’t have superhuman abilities anymore, let’s start this match all over... Mano a mano."Nicholas said, a cold deadly glint flashing in his eyes.